Cutter forming device



Dec. 31, 1946. H. c. VIZENTS 2,413,532

CUTTER FORMING DEVICE Filed June 20, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 31, 1946. H. c. VIZENTS 2,413,532

CUTTER FORMING DEVICE Filed June 20, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q? 55 1 han .ZQsrmam C. aa'ZenZZ Patented Dec. 31, 1946 CUTTER FORMING DEVICE Herman C. Vizents, Chicago, Ill.; Lillian Vizents,

administratrix of said Herman C. Vizents, deceased, assignor to Edwin H. Sigman, Chicago, Ill.

Application June 20, 1942, Serial No. 447,831

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to machines for making cutters employed in milling machines, and its main object is to provide a small device in the nature of a lathe accessory or tool which may be used with facility to fashion the teeth of the cutter.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the above character which may be produced at an expense trifling in comparison with the cost of machines now employed for the same purpose.

Another object of the invention is to design the forming device with simple and eflicient means for adjusting it to the requirements of the forming operation. 7

An important object of the invention is to provide a device which enables milling machine cutters to be produced quickly and at a fraction of the usual cost.

With the above objects in view, and any others which may suggest themselves from the description to follow, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of the novel forming device as mounted on a lathe and about to engage the cutter periphery;

Figure 2 is a duplication of the central portion of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale and partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are elevations of the device from the right-hand and left-hand sides of Fig. 1, respectively;

Fig. 6 is a rear-end view; and

Fig. 7 is a section on the line l? of Fig. 5.

The preliminary formation of a milling cutter with a series of peripheral teeth is a routine operation, and cutters so made can be produced in any shop equipped with a milling machine. The completion of the cutter, however, is a more peculiar or diflicult operation, since it involves the cutting or fashioning of the teeth with a particular profile bevel to impart a cutting edge and departing clearance to each tooth. Elaborate machines are now employed for fashioning the teeth as mentioned, making the process so involved that the cutter becomes a costly article to produce. Moreover, where the machines are engaged in important contract or production work, they cannot be spared for the temporary task of finishing one or more milling cutters, and the problem of procuring these is therefore aggravated. I have therefore recognized the need for a device for the single purpose of finishing milling cutters expeditiously, and of a character to be handy and easily applied to any lathe wherever the particular job is to be done.

In accordance with the foregoing, l0 denotes the bed of a conventional lathe, l l the live center, l2 the drive chuck, l3 the dead center, and M the compound rest. The milling cutter to be finished requires the mounting of an arbor l5 between the centers H and I3, one end of the arbor receiving a dog [6 from the drive chuck [2. The medial portion of the arbor is built up with a collar I! as a backing for a disc It). The latter is followed by a spacer ring l9- and the milling cutter 20. The corresponding end portion of the arbor is threaded at 2| to receive a nut 22, by means of which the disc l0 and cutter are made fast to the arbor.

Dotted lines in Fig. 3 show the form of the finished cutter 20. However, when the cutter is first mounted in the arbor assembly just described, its periphery is circular and the teeth 23 do not have the bevel indicated in Fig. 3. In order that a tool may be applied to impart the required bevel to each tooth, it is necessary first to determine the angle of the bevel, and next to maintain it in respect to each tooth as the tool assumes the cut.

Accordingly, the disc I8 is divided peripherally into as many sections as the teeth of the cutter; and each section is beveled in ratchet form at the angle required for the tooth profile. The carrier of the tool 24 is then provided with a follower 25-preferably in the form of a rollerwhich governs the course of the tool in respect to each cutter tooth in harmony with the pattern disc l8, imparting the beveled or undercut profile to each tooth as the cutter rotates against the tool, that is, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3.

The device which carries the tool .24 and roller 25 is basically in the form of a sturdy angle plate whose base 3| is perforated at 32 to receive a screw post 33 of the compound rest and be secured by means of a top nut 34. The plate 30 is thus adjustable in relation to the work in the lathe by means of the cross-feed control 35 of the same.

On the side opposite from the base 3!, the angle plate 30 is formed with a horizontal dove-tail slot 36 to seat a similarly-formed slide 31. The slide has a vertical series of screw studs 38 projecting from one side into correspondinglylocated slots 39 made in the angle plate. The

slots open into horizontal bores 40 made in the angle plate from the rear, the entrances to the bores being tapped to receive socket screws M. Compression springs 42 are lodged in the bores 46 between the respective screws 4| and screwstuds 38, maintaining the latter at the front ends of the slots 39. The slide 3! may thus be backed against the tension of the spring 42, such tension being variable by the adjustment of therear screws 41. It is of course possible to use one large spring in place of the three small ones shown, but such an alternative would require extra lateral space and would not permit the uniform and flexible adjustment possible withthe three springs shown. V

The slide 3'! is extended with a side wing defining an upper horizontal channel 44. A bar 45 seats in the latter and is reduced at its front end with a tip 46 vertically tapped at M. The tool 24 underlies the tip 46 and is made fastao the same by a screw 48 directed through the tool into the tapped bore 4'! from below. The bar 35 is also made with .a pair .of longitudinally-spaced slots 49 for the entrance of socket-type set-screws B. These thread into theslide 31 and fix forward and rearward adjustments of the bar relative to the same.

The outer edge of the wing'43 is formed with .a horizontal T-slot 5| to seat a slide bar 52. For convenience of assembly, the latter is made with a separate head 53. Socket screws E l are directed into the slide bar 52 from the side to thread into the head 53 to tightly secure the same to the slide bar. The forward end of the latter carries the follower roller 25, while the rear end is formed with an inward arm 55 in which a spindle 56 is journaled, the latter receiving collars 51 and 58 adjoining the arm 55 and hand knob 59 at the rear. The forward portion of the spindle is in the form of a screw 55a which threads into the rear end of the slide 3?. Thus. the slide bar 52 is not fastened, but may be moved forth and back relative to the -slide 31 when the hand knob 59 is rotated in the corresponding direction.

In order that the fit of the slide bar may always be close despite wear, it is spaced from the top of its cavity by a gib 6!). A series of set screws 6! are directed downwardly through the stock of the angle plate 3!] to bear on the gib and receive such adjustment as will lend the jib proper bearing contact with the slide, the adjustment of the screws being fixed by the application of locking nuts '62.

In order that the cutter assembly in the lathe may be ready for the forming tool 24, it is essential that the teeth or falls of the ratchet disc l8 should be in registration with the spaces between the cutter teeth 23. When this has been ascertained, the nut 22 is turned tight and the cutter assembly treated as a unit. It may now be assumed that the lateral spacing of the disc l8 and cutter 20 has been made the same as that of the follower roller 25 and the tool 25.

The forming device may now be m'oved'in line with the work by the proper control of the compound rest and advanced until the roller 25 seats in the bottom of the nearest ratchet fall of the disc l8. The advance of the rollerb-y means of the hand knob 59-I1OW causes the slide 31 to back against the tension of the springs 42, so that the roller is held with a corresponding amount of pressure against theperip'hery of the disc. The tool may now be adjusted to the work, and the latter put in motion. The cross-feed control 35 can now be used to advance the tool, .but it will be apparent that the course of the same willbe controlled by the profile of the cam disc l8. Inother words, the tool will be backed veachtime the roller 25 climbs a disc tooth, to

make a receding out in the cutter tooth it negotiates, whereby to impart the required longitudinal slant toits profile. While the resistance of the springs 42 will increase as the tool advances, there should be no hardship in this respect, as the entire travel of the tool is usually not .over an eighth of an inch, and the springs are amply long .to absorb the pressure without imposing strain on the tool or parts of the device. However, this situationcan be relieved where advisable, or in certain instances, by backing the screws 4! to reduce the pressure on the springs 42 as circumstances dictate.

It will'be evident from the above description that the novel cutter forming device is a unit which eiiminates the need of an entire or elaborate machine for the immediate operation of forming the cutter profile. The device is purely an accessory, takes up little room'cn the lathe, and can be taken off and put away in a small drawer as soon as its task has been performed. On the other hand, its compactness and simplicity do not place the device in the class of a makeshift or gadget, as it is solidly and accurately constructed, and is a machine in every sense of the word. However, due to its small size and few parts the device can be produced to sell at modest cost to shops equipped with milling machines, making it convenient and extremely economical for such shops to make or form their own milling machine cutters and have them handy and available whenever jobs requiring their use come in.

While I have described the invention along specific lines, Various minor changes or refinements may be made without departing from its principle, and I desire to consider all such changes and refinements as coming within the scope and spirit of the appended claim.

I claim:

A tool holder comprising a support, a slide in one side of the same and longitudinally yieldable, the slide having a pocket in its outer side, a tool seated in said pocket and having a number of longitudinally-spaced slots, and screws directed into the slide by way of the slots, the heads of the screws bearing against the outer face of thetool to clamp the same to the slide when the tool is longitudinally adjusted within the limits of the slots.

HERMAN C. VIZENTS. 

